Crisis Point: A Day in A&E
Strategy, research, design, copy, creative direction and project management for text adventure game about the NHS winter crisis
The Work
Concept ideation & development, Production research, Expert interview, Game design, UX & interaction design, Creative direction, Copywriting, QA testing, Project management
The Project
Highlight medical negligence without attacking the NHS. Clinical mistreatment solicitors BBK needed to draw attention to their practice without attacking the NHS. With political pressure on NHS funding amidst another expected “winter crisis”, we set out to produce an interactive challenge to give an insight into the pressures of working in A&E and the difficult decisions NHS staff make every day.
The Approach
Detailed research tied to smart game design. I conducted weeks of research into NHS A&E, including interviews of doctors and nurses, and crafted the findings into a series of realistic scenarios and choices for the player to face. I designed a game logic to convert these choices into consequences and a performance system similar to actual A&E departments, judging players against the targets seen in the news.
The Result
A “nerve-racking” success. The modular structure I gave the game allowed its copy, visual design and UI — all of which I directed — to be developed in parallel with backend, so the project could be delivered to an ambitious timescale. Crisis Point: A Day in A&E was covered by over 30 outlets (totalling over TF 400) including the Daily Mail, and it increased traffic to the BBK site by over 1700%.
You can play Crisis Point: A Day in A&E on the Bolt Burdon Kemp website.